Stopper rod assemblies



United States Patent O ration of Pennsylvania Filed duly 21, 1961, Ser.No. 125,773 1 Claim. c1. 22-s5 This invention relates to stoppers andstopper rod assemblies.

In the steel industry, the increased steel tonnages require a longerpouring time and higher pouring temperatures and have given rise to areal problem in stopper rod assemblies.

In some stopper rod assemblies a bolt is inserted through a bore in thebottom of the stopper, the bore being plugged after the rod is in placeand the bolt atiixed to the rod. The increased pouring temperature andincreased tonnages cause accelerated erosion at the bottom or noseportion of the stopper, particularly in the case of stoppers havingplugged bottoms.

This invention has for its salient object to provide a solid nosestopper, thus minimizing erosion and thermoshock cracks, and means forfastening it to the assembly.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lock for locking astopper rod to a stopper in such a manner that the rod cannot beloosened or removed from the stopper by twisting one .of the partsrelatively to the other.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stopper rod assembly soconstructed and arranged that the sleeves around the stopper rod will besupported by the rod and not by the stopper.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stopper rod assembly soconstructed and arranged that the rod and stopper can be easily andquickly assembled.

Further objects of the invention will appear from the followingspecification taken in connection with the drawings which form 'a partof this application, and in which FIG. 1 is a vertical sectionalelevation of a stopper rod assembly constructed in accordance with theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional elevation taken substantially on line2-2 of FIG. 1, looking in the direct-ion of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a stopper showing the locking sections inthe position in which they are inserted in the recess in the stopper andprior to expansion to locking position; and

FIG. 4 is an exploded view showing the parts in sep arated positionprior to the insertion thereof in the recess and expansion therein.

In the particular embodiment of the invention illustnated in thedrawings, there is shown a stopper having a solid bottom and a flatupper surface 11, the stopper having a bore or recess 12 extendingdownwardly from the upper surface, the recess having a flat lower end orbottom 13. The recess 12 has an annular, laterally extending, groove orindentation 14 in the wall thereof spaced upwardly from the bottom ofthe recess.

A stopper rod 15 has a flange 16 on the lower end thereof and the rodand flange-are insertable in the recess, as shown in FIG. 1.

A pair of semi-cylindrical locking sections 17 and 18 encircle the rod15, as shown in FIG. 3, and are dimensioned to fit within the recess 12when the sections are positioned on the rod, as shown in FIG. 3, orprior to 3,1 03,720 Patented Sept. 17, 1963 their locking operation.Each section has a flange 20 at the upper end thereof and these flanges,as shown in FIG. 4, project inwardly, [as shown at 21, beyond the innervertical wall 22 0f the section. The sections 17 and 18 also haveprojecting outwardly therefrom, protuberances 23 and 24 adapted to enterthe grooves 14 into locking position therein. The protuberances areflattened or sla-bbed oil, as shown at 25 and 26 at their ends tofacilitate their positioning within the recess 12.

The sections 17 and 18 are assembled on the rod in the manner shown inFIG. 3 and the rod and sections are then lowered into the recess 12, or,if desired, the rod may be lowered first. It will be noted from theshowing in FIG. 1 that the sections 17 and 18 rest on the top of theflange 16 of the rod and when the sections are expanded in the mannerabout to be described they will lock the rod to the stopper.

in the form of the invention shown, the expansion means for expandingthe sections 17 and 18 into locking position consist of bars 30 whichare pushed downwardly between the ends of the sections 17 and 18 andforce the sections laterally into locking position.

A sleeve 31 is mounted on the rod 15 above the stopper and has a recess32 at the bottom which receives the upwardly extending portions of thelocking sections 17 and 13. The sleeve also rests on the flat uppersurfaces 11 of the flanges 20 of the sections 17 and 18. Thus, theweight of the sleeves on the rod is supported by the rod and flange 16and not by the stopper.

Although one specific embodiment of the invention has been particularlyshown and described it will be understood that the invention is capableof modification and that changes in the construction and in thearrangement of the various cooperating parts may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention, as expressed in thefollowing claim.

What I claim is:

In a stopper rod assembly, a solid stopper having a flat upper surfaceand a cylindrical recess extending centrally axially and downwardlytherein, said recess having a substantially flat bottom and the wall ofthe recess having an annular indentation spaced above the bottom of therecess, a stopper rod having a flange at the bottom and extendingdownwardly in said recess, a pair of arculate locking sectionsencircling the rod and resting at their lower ends on the rod flange,said sections having protuberances on their outer surfaces at the lowerends thereof adapted to seat in said indentation and lock the sectionsin the stopper, said sections having flanges at the upper endsengageable with the flat upper surface of the stopper, the outsidedimension of the sections and protuberances being less than the diameterof the stopper recess and the ends of the protuberances being flattenedand tapered at the ends of the opposite protubenances, and separate barsdimensioned to fit between the ends of the sections when in expandedposition to lock the sections in the recess and lock the stopper rod tothe stopper.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,719,795 Bacon July 2, 1929 2,855,970 Neuschotz Oct. 14, 1958 2,988,791Seeley June 20, 1961 3,027,611 Roberts Apr. 3, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS1,228,624 France Mar. 14, 1960

